December 10, 2009

University of Michigan Population Studies Center Working Paper: “The Night Shift: Sex Stratification of Sleep among American Adults,” by Sarah Burgard, Jennifer Ailshire, and N. Michelle Hughes (PSC Research Report No. 09-693, December 2009, .pdf format, 48p.). Links to the abstract and full-text can be found at:

Center for Policy Research [Syracuse University] Working Paper: “The Effective Target of the Social Security Disability Benefits Reform Act of 1984,” by Perry Singleton (Working Paper No. 119, November 2009, .pdf format, 43p.). Links to the abstract and full-text can be found at:

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report: The latest issue, Vol. 58, No. 47, Dec. 11, 2009 (HTML and .pdf format) is available from the US Centers for Disease Control site). Note: To access this issue in the future, simply click on “Weekly Report” and then “Current Volume” or “Past Volumes” on the left side of the page.

Panel Study Of Income Dynamics Bibliography Update: The University of Michigan Institute for Social Research PSID has recently added the following item to its bibliography. The entire bibliography can be searched or browsed in various ways at:

Farcomeni, Alessio. A Multivariate Extension of the Dynamic Logit Model for Longitudinal Data Based on a Latent Markov Heterogeneity Structure. Journal of the American Statistical Association. 2009; 109(486):816-831.

Hofferth, Sandra L. Media Use vs. Work and Play in Middle Childhood. Social Indicators Research. 2009; 93(1):127-129.

Mohanty, Lisa L. and Raut, Lakshmi K. Home Ownership and School Outcomes of Children: Evidence from the PSID Child Development Supplement. American Journal of Economics and Sociology. 2009; 68(2):465-489.

Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) [University of Essex, Colchester, UK] Working Papers:

A. “Cross-National Differences in Determinants of Multiple Deprivation in Europe,” by Francesco Figari (ISER Working Paper 2009-34, December 2009, .pdf format, 42p.). Links to the abstract and full-text can be found at:

B. “Spaghetti Unravelled: A Model-Based Description of Differences in Income-Age Trajectories,” by Stephen Jenkins (ISER Working Paper 2009-30, December 2009, .pdf format, 73p.). Links to the abstract and full-text can be found at:

C. “Decomposing Pay Gaps across the Wage Distribution: Investigating inequalities of ethno-religious groups and disabled people,” by Lucinda Platt, Simonetta Longhi, and Cheti Nicoletti (ISER Working Paper 2009-31, December 2009, .pdf format, 61p.). Links to the abstract and full-text can be found at:

University of Wisconsin Institute for Research on Poverty Working Paper: “Education Levels and Mortgage Application Outcomes: Evidence of Financial Literacy,” by J. Michael Collins (DP 1369-09, December 2009, .pdf format, 33p.).

Abstract:

This paper uses 2005 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data aggregated by census tract to measure the relationship between census tract-level college completion rates and the rates at which first lien refinance mortgage applicants submit incomplete loan applications, withdraw loan applications before they are reviewed, and reject lender approved loan offers. This paper also explores the relationship between tract-level college completion rates and the mean interest rate borrowers received for a subset of high-cost loans. The results indicate that first lien refinance loan applicants in tracts with higher rates of college completion are less likely to submit incomplete applications, to withdraw applications before they are reviewed by the lender, and to reject lender-approved loan offers. Tracts with higher rates of college completion pay lower mean interest rates as reported by lenders for high-cost loans. Consumers in census tracts with lower rates of college completion may engage in different search strategies for mortgage credit options than consumers in tracts with higher college completion rates. To the extent education is correlated with financial capability, these findings suggest loan applicants with lower educational attainment lack financial literacy concerning refinance mortgage application search strategies.